The head of America’s National Security Agency said Tuesday that Russia was behind the11th-hour hack of French President-elect Emmanuel Macron’s campaign team, and that US officials had informed France a cyber-attack was underway.
The hacking attack on Macron’s campaign, just hours ahead of Sunday’s run-off vote that saw him elected, led to thousands of files being leaked online.
“We had become aware of Russian activity,” Admiral Mike Rogers told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.
“We had talked to our French counterparts prior to the public announcements of the events that were publicly attributed this past weekend and gave them a heads up.
“‘Look, we’re watching the Russians, we’re seeing them penetrate some of your infrastructure. Here’s what we’ve seen, what can we do to try and assist?'” said Rogers, who also heads US Cyber Command.
